Tavern Restaurant Review

: "Tavern" may be an old-fashioned way to say "bar," but in the expert hands of Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne (Lucques, a.o.c.), it becomes an "à la mode" restaurant composed of three distinct elegant rooms. In the front is the Larder, ideal for grabbing a croissant or taking home some house-made bread, hand-crafted salumi, salads, cheeses, or a bottle from an intriguing boutique winery. A hip crowd has adopted Tavern's vibrant lounge as a place to gather over cocktails and small bites, making it a good spot for solo diners to wander in. The main dining area, with its glass roof, is appropriately called the Atrium, and is warmed up by two olive trees. The zinc-topped tables proudly retain their stemware stains, proof of the good times experienced there. The menu is small but appealing. Choose from market-fresh salads, pork rillettes or charred Spanish octopus to start. From the main courses, we enjoy the duck confit with haricots verts, walnuts, grapes and crème fraîche. Desserts might include cherry almond crostata or a "Snickers" bar with salted peanut caramel and vanilla ice cream. Styne has put together a wine list of mostly French and domestic labels that include many small, interesting wineries.